*No solution found to looming traffic chaos
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 1: The slow funding coupled with technical problems has further delayed the work on 200 bedded maternity hospital at Gandhi Nagar, which otherwise was scheduled to be completed by the end of last financial year. Though March 31, 2016 is the latest deadline for completion of project, the executing agency is of the opinion that time-line can be met provided there is sufficient flow of funds.
This 200 bedded maternity hospital was conceived because the main maternity hospital housed in the SMGS Hospital Complex always remains overcrowded. The project was taken up with the then Union Government, which agreed to provide funds.
The work on the project was started in the year 2012-13 and it was to be completed within three years—by the end of 2014-15 financial year but the hospital missed the deadline mainly because of slow funding. Moreover, when this project was inspected by the Monitoring Cell of the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister in the year 2013, the hospital was dubbed as ‘ill-planned’ because of scant attention towards several vital aspects.
“When the last deadline was missed and new time-frame of December 2015 was fixed, it was expected from the concerned authorities of the Health Department to closely monitor execution of the project and ensure regular and un-interrupted flow of funds. However, nobody paid any serious attention till date and the outcome of the same is that work on the project will get delayed beyond December this year”, sources said.
According to the Roads and Buildings Department, which is executing the project, an amount of only Rs 20 crore has been released till date against the project cost of Rs 50 crore while as expenditure is on higher side.
“Not only due to slow funding, even poor response to the centrally air-conditioning tenders was also the reason behind delay in work as it was not possible to carry out several civil works till basic activities for air-conditioning were carried out”, sources said, adding “the stalled civil work resumed only in the recent past when tenders for air-conditioning works yielded desired response”.
When asked about the works, which are yet to be carried out, sources said that at present civil as well as electrical works are going on but not in the whole building. Moreover, sewerage treatment plant is yet to be completed by the executing agency besides many other vital works.
“Though it is stated that hospital is likely to be completed in all respects by March 2016, the Roads and Buildings Department is still uncertain about meeting the deadline and is of the view that deadline would be met only when there would be sufficient flow of funds and no more technical problem crops up”, sources said.
When contacted, concerned Executive Engineer of R&B Mr Abdullah said, “completion of work on the project depends upon un-interrupted flow of funds”. He further said, “we will meet the deadline if sufficient funds are made available as liabilities of contractors have already piled up”.
According to the sources, no major progress has so far been achieved as far as purchase of equipment and other paraphernalia for this maternity hospital is concerned.
They disclosed that several questions vis-à-vis viability of the project have yet not been resolved despite the fact that same were raised by none else than the Monitoring Cell of Chief Minister.
The 200 bedded hospital has come up on inadequate space of five kanals and 15 marlas, which otherwise is not suffice for the construction of Community Health Center and Sub-District Hospital, sources said, adding “the lanes around existing Gandhi Nagar Hospital are not wide enough even to cater the need of the existing vehicular traffic and with another hospital of such a huge magnitude coming up in vicinity the traffic movement on these lanes is going to worsen”.
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